Creasing and burnishing machine



.- w, E935. R. s. REID ET AL 2,@23,549

CREASING AND BURNISHING MACHINE Filed Nov. 16, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l R. G. REID ET AL 2,023,549

CREASING AND BURNISHING MACHINE Filed Nov, 16, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 k3 MN.

Patented Dec. 10, 1935 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE ter, England, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application November 16, 1933,'Serial No. 698,325

In Great Britain December 22, 1932 12 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for creasing and/ or burnishing leather or like articles and is par-icularly but by no means exclusively concerned with machines for creasing and burnishing strips of leather or like material which are to be made into straps, dog leads or like articles.

Strips of leather or the like which are to be made into straps or like articles are usually cut from a sheet of material and their raw edges are finished by being Waxed or stained and then burnished; and a crease line is, if desired, formed on the grain surface of the leather more or less close to each edge of the strip, the general bject of the present invention being to provide an improved machine by the use of which the work may be both creased and burnished or merely burnished as may be desired.

According to one feature of the invention there is provided a feed roll and a creasing wheel between which the work p-asses, and a tool for burnishing the edge of the work. In the illustrated construction the feed roll is conical, the burnishing tool, which has a groove of particular shape in its operative edge, is oscillated about a pivot which is perpendicular to the axis of the feed roll; and, if burnishing of the edge is all that is desired, the creasing wheel may be replaced by an auxiliary feed roll.

These and other features of the invention including certain details of construction and combinations of parts will be described as embodied in an illustrated machine and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a machine in which the present invention embodied,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation, the feed roll and presser having been removed and the feed roll shaft being shown in section,

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the operative end of the burnishing tool, on a greatly enlarged scale,

Fig. 4 is a plan of the burnishing tool on a smaller scale than that of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a view, principally in elevation, of the mechanism for oscillating the burnishing tool.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the machine comprises a frame in the shape of a small column or pedestal l adapted to be fixed to a work bench. The frame near its upper end is provided with bearings for a rotary feed shaft 3 extending from right to left of the machine. The feed shaft has secured to its right-hand end a gear wheel 5 having internal gear teeth. The gear teeth mesh with a pinion l rotatably mounted on a spindle 9 fixed in the frame above and behind and parallel to the feed shaft. The said pinion meshes with a second pinion H secured on the right-hand end of a creasing wheel shaft l3 so that the feed shaft 3 and creasing wheel shaft l3 rotate in opposite directions. The creasing 5 wheel shaft I3 is directly above the feed shaft 3 and rotatably mounted in a bracket l5 pivoted on the spindle 9. The bracket [5 is urged downwardly about the spindle 9 by a spring plunger I! mounted in the frame I and bearing against the upper side of the bracket. A vertical screw l9 adjustably mounted in the frame limits, by its engagement with a lug 2| on the bracket, the downward movement of the bracket under the influence of the spring plunger ll. The gear 5 and pinions l and II are of such size that the creasing wheel shaft I3 is driven at about six times the speed of the feed shaft 3; and

the arrangement of the pinions is such that the bracket I 5 which carries the creasing wheel shaft may swing upwardly or downwardly about the spindle 9 on which it is pivoted without interrupting the engagement of the pinions. The

bracket l5 has extending rearwardly from it an arm 23 (Fig. 2) which may be connected to a 25 treadle by the depression of which the bracket may be swung upwardly to raise the creasing wheel shaft away from the feed shaft. The feed wheel shaft 3 has secured on its left-hand end a work feed roll 25 on which the work is supported. The feed roll, which has a roughened or partly roughened work-engaging surface, is about one and three-eighths of an inch in diameter at its right-hand end and tapers toward the left, the angle between the outer surface of the roll and the axis of the roll being about seven degrees. The creasing wheel shaft l3 has secured to its left-hand end a creasing wheel 2'! arranged above the right-hand end of the feed roll. The creasing wheel 21, which indents a groove along the margin of the work piece, is in the form of a small disk fixed on the end of the creasing wheel spindle and having formed on it a thin rib 29 the outer edge of which is circular and forms the crease in the work. The rib is just to the left of the right-hand end of the feed roll. To support the lefthand end of the creasing wheel shaft I3, where it projects to the left beyond its bearing in the bracket !5, a yoke 3! engaging the upper side of the shaft is adjustably mounted in the bracket IS. The yoke has extending upwardly from it a stem 33 which enters a bore in a portion of the bracket l5 which extends over the shaft. A vertical screw 35 in the said portion of the bracket engages the upper end of the 55 l stem and may be adjusted to cause the yoke 3! to apply more or less pressure against the creasing wheel shaft.

A burnishing tool 31 for burnishing the edge of the strip or other article is arranged to oscillate on a vertical stud 33 arranged to the right of the creasing wheel and having its axis a little in front of a vertical plane passing through the axis of the feed shaft. The burnishing tool 31 is secured to a bar 39 about one-quarter of an inch thick and about three-quarters of an inch wide, pivoted about midway of its length, i. e. from its left-hand end to its right-hand end, on the stud 38. The vertical left-hand end face of the burnishing tool is curved, when viewed from above, about the axis of the stud 38 on which the tool is pivoted and is arranged as close as possible to the right-hand face of the feed roll 25. The left-hand end face of the burnishing tool has formed in it a horizontal groove 4| the bottom 43 of which groove is curved about the axis of the stud on which the burnishing tool is pivoted. The bottom 43 of the groove is inclined upwardly away from the axis of the pivot stud of the burnishing tool at an angle of about seven degrees; and, therefore, the bottom of the groove is substantially at right angles to the upper face of the feed roll. The lower side face 45 of the groove is inclined upwardly from the left-hand end face "of the tool at an angle of about seven degrees to the horizontal and forms substantially a continuation of the upper face of the feed roll. The lower side face 45 of the groove curves into the bottom face of the groove which bottom face is slightly concave vertically, and the upper side face 41 of the groove is inclined downwardly from the left-hand end face of the tool at an angle of about seven degrees to the horizontal and curves into the bottom face of the groove. The groove 4| is about one-sixteenth of an inch deep and of a width tosuit the thickness of the strip or work piece to be operated upon; although, since strips of the kind usually encountered do not vary in thickness to any great extent, a tool having a groove of a certain width will successfully operate on strips of slightly different thicknesses.

The distance of the crease from the edge of the strip or work piece may be determined on different work pieces by using a creasing wheel havsemi-circular and the square-cut edge of the work piece pressed into it; in which case, especially if the material of the work piece were to become slightly thicker than the width of the groove as the work piece is traversed past the tool, the centre portion of theedge face of the work piece mightnot be engaged by the bottom of the groove owing to the corners of the edge preventing the I edge of the work piece from being pressed fully into the groove. 7

The said pivot 38 ofjthe burnishing tool is fixed in a bracket;49 adjustably secured to the ma chine frame by screws 49' so that the burnishing tool, may be adjusted to the right or left, and the upper surface of the bracket forms a support for the burnishing tool, the feed roll shaft 3 passing through the bracket.

The right-hand end of the burnishing tool is connected by a universal joint toone end of a link 5! which, from the universal connection, extends forwardly and is connected by another universal joint to the upper arm 53 of a substantially vertical lever 55 pivoted about midway of its length on a horizontal stud 57 extending from right to left of the machine and secured in the bracket 49 last mentioned. The lower arm 58 of the lever is pivotally connected to one end of an eccentric link 59 which extends forwardly and at its forward end embraces an eccentric 6! formed on a horizontal shaft 63 extending from right to left of the machine and rotatably mounted in bearings carried by the machine frame. The eccentric'shaft has fixed on it a pulley 55 which is connected by a belt to an electric motor fixed to the lower part of the work bench and controlled by a readily accessible switch.

The eccentric shaft 63 is preferably driven at a speed of about three thousand revolutions per minute; and the eccentric imparts, through the mechanism hereinbefore described, to the lefthand or operative end of the burnishing tool 31 a throw of about three-sixteenths of an inch.

The feed roll shaft 3 is preferably driven at about eighty-five revolutions per minute and the creasing wheel shaft l3 at about five hundred revolutions per minute, the peripheral speed of the creasing wheel being greater than the peripheral speed of the feed roll. The feed roll shaft 3 may be driven by the said motor through suitable countershafts, belts and pulleys; and the feed roll shaft may have on it a series of coned grooved pulleys round any one of which the belt connecting the feed roll shaft to the countershaft by whichit is driven passes, the latter countershaft also having on it a series of coned grooved pulleys round which the latter belt passes so that the speed of 'the feed roll shaft and therefore the speed of the creasing wheel shaft may be conveniently and quickly varied to suit the character of the work piece to be operated upon. A friction clutch controlled by a treadle may be associated with the driving means for the feed roll shaft so that this shaft may be stopped and started while the motor continues to drive the burnishing tool.

When a straight comparatively narrow work piece is being operated upon, the work piece is guided and pressed toward the burnishing tool by a presser which engages the opposite edge of the workpiece to that being burnished. The presser is preferably in the form of a roll 8| having a projecting rib 82 at its top, said roll being rotatable on the stem of a screw 83 carried by the upper end of an arm 6? of a bellcrank lever which extends downwardly, the bellcranklever beingpivoted on'a stud 69 secured in a bracket H fixed on the machine frame. The stud 69 is arranged below the feed roll in such a position that as the presser roll is swung to theright or left, its lower face remains as close 7 asfpossible to the upper surface of the feed roll.

lever which carries the'presser roll and engages 75 the bracket 1| on which the lever is pivoted. The latter arm of the bell-crank lever has projecting from it to the left an extension 19 which is connected to a treadle by depression of which the presser may be swung away from the burnishing tool to allow the leading end of a work piece to be inserted between the presser and burnish ing tool. If it is desired to operate upon a work piece which is not of such a form that it can be passed between the presser and burnishing tool, i. e. a circular or irregularly shaped work piece, the presser may, by means of the latter treadle, be swung to the left and below the level of the upper face of the feed roll so that the work piece may be presented to the burnishing and creasing tools by the operator and pressed against the burnishing tool. The presser roll may be locked in this position by means of a latch or other device. The axis of the screw 83 is slightly in front of a vertical plane passing through the feed roll axis, and is in the same vertical plane as the axis of the pivot of the burnishing tool so that the edge of the strip of material is pressed against the burnishing tool just before the strip is gripped between the feed roll and the creasing wheel. The rib at the top of the presser roll projects over the edge of the strip to prevent that edge of the strip from moving upwardly away from the feed roll.

The creasing wheel 2! and the burnishing tool 31 may be heated in any suitable manner, for example by gas jets 84, 85 which may be carried by the bracket 15. When a strip of material is to be operated upon by the machine a creasing wheel having its creasing rib positioned along the wheel to suit the distance from the edge of the strip at which it is desired to form the crease is secured to the creasing wheel shaft. The creasing-wheel may be adjusted heightwise if desired to suit the thickness of the strip although the creasing wheel will usually be adjusted so that its lowest part is just above the upper surface of the feed roll. The spring of the spring plunger H, which urges the creasing wheel downwardly, may be adjusted to obtain suitable pressure of the creasing wheel on the work, and the presser roll may be adjusted toward or from the burnishing tool according to the width of the strip so that the right-hand edge of the presser roll is a less distance away from the bottom of the groove in the burnishing tool than the width of the strip so that when the strip is inserted between the presser roll and burnishing tool the presser roll urges the strip toward the burnishing tool.

The creasing wheel and burnishing tool having been heated, one end of the strip, the edges of which have been stained or waxed and allowed to dry, is inserted between the burnishing tool and the presser roll and between the creasing wheel and the feed roll. The feed roll feeds the strip past the creasing and burnishing tools which form a crease near one edge of the strip and burnish that edge, the strip being held against the feed roll by the creasing wheel and to a certain extent by the projecting rib 82 on the presser roll which prevents the margin of the strip remote from the creasing wheel from lifting unduly away from the feed roll if it tended to do so. The edge of the strip is pressed into the groove in the burnishing tool by the presser, the presser yielding to accommodate or follow up any variations in the normal width of the strip.

When one margin of the strip has been operated upon, the other end of the strip is inserted between the tools and devices, and the opposite margin is operated upon. If the strip has a tapered end, the tapered end will be pressed 5 either by the presser roll or by the operator against the burnishing tool and this portion will be creased and burnished. If a work piece of a different form, such as a circular or irregula ly shaped work piece, is to be operated upon, 10 the presser roll is swung to the left and downwardly below the level of the upper face of the feed roll and is locked there. The work piece is then presented to the creasing wheel and burnishing tool by the operator and is fed by the 5 feed roll, the work piece being pressed toward the burnishing tool and manipulated by the operator as it is fed past the tools,

If it is desired merely to burnish the edge of a Work piece without forming a crease along its 20 margin, the creasing tool may be removed and a plain collar be loosely mounted on the creasing Wheel shaft in place of the creasing wheel which collar merely acts to hold the work piece against the feed roll. The collar, in this case, is 25 loosely mounted on the creasing wheel spindle so that it is rotated by its engagement with the work piece and does not rub on the work piece as it would do if it were secured to the creasing wheel shaft.

Although the invention has been set forth as embodied in a particular machine, it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the particular machine which has been shown and described.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A creasing and burnishing machine having, in combination, a feed roll, a creasing member between which and the roll the work is fed, means for operating the roll and the member, a burnishing tool for engaging the edge of the work, and means for operating the burnishing tool.

2. A creasing and burnishing machine having, *5 in combination, a feed roll, a creasing member between which and the roll the work is fed, means for operating the roll and the member, a burnishing tool for engaging the edge of the work, and means for oscillating the burnishing tool to cause it to move back and forth along the edge of the work.

3. A creasing and burnishing machine having, in combination, a feed roll, a creasing member between which and the roll the work is fed, means for operating the roll and for operating the member from the roll-rotating means, a burnishing tool for engaging the edge of the work, and means for operating the burnishing tool.

4. A creasing and burnishing machine having, in combination, means for supporting and feeding the work, a creasing member for forming a crease in a face of the work along an edge thereof, a burnishing tool for engaging the edge of the work, and means for operating the creasing member at a given speed and for operating the burnishing tool at a higher speed.

5. A creasing and burnishing machine having, in combination, a feed member, means for operating the feed member at a comparatively slow speed, a creasing member, means for operating the creasing member at a higher speed, a burnishing tool for engaging the edge of the work, and means for operating the tool at a still higher speed. 7

6. A creasing'and burnishing machine having, in combination, a feed member, means for operating the feed member at a comparatively slow speed, a creasing member, means for operating the creasing member from the means which opcrates the feed member at a higher speed, a burnishing tool for engaging the edge of the work, and means for operating the tool at a still higher speed.

7. A creasing and burnishing machine having, in combination, a feed member, means for operating the feed member at a comparatively slow speed, a creasing member, means for operating the creasing member at a higher speed, a burnishing tool for engaging the edge of the work, and means for oscillating the tool at a still higher speed. o

8. A burnishing machine having, in combination, means for feeding the work, an oscillating burnishing tool having in its operative face a groove to receive the edge of the work, the side walls of the groove flaring outwardly from the bottom thereof, each point on the bottom of the groove being located in a circle concentric With the axis about which the tool oscillates, said bottom in a cross-section transverse to the groove presenting an outline which is inclined to the axis of oscillation of the burnishing tool, and means for oscillating said tool.

9. A burnishing machine having, in combination, a conical feed roll, means for rotating the roll, a burnishing tool, and a pivot upon which the burnishing tool is mounted for oscillation, the axis of the pivotbeing perpendicular to the axis :of the feed roll, said burnishing tool having a groove to receive the edge of the work, the bottom of said groove at the locality in which the edge of the work is at any given instant in contact being substantially perpendicular to the workcontacting element of the conical feed roll.

10. A creasing and burnishing machine having,

in combination, a feed roll, a creasing wheel, a burnishing tool, a swinging bracket by which the creasing wheel is carried, said bracket being pivoted about an axis parallel to the axes of the feed roll and the creasing wheel, and means for rotating the feed roll and the creasing wheel and for oscillating the burnishing tool.

11. A creasing and burnishing machine having, in combination, a feed roll, a creasing wheel, a

shaft upon which the creasing wheel is carried,

a pivoted bracket having a bore in which the shaft of the creasing wheel is rotatably mounted, the outer end of said shaft projecting from said bore, a burnishing tool located partly beneath the projecting portion of the creasing wheel shaft, and means for driving the roll, wheel and tool.

12. A creasing and burnishing machine having, in combination, a feed roll, a creasing wheel, a. shaft upon which the creasing wheel is carried, a pivoted bracket having a bore in which the shaft of the creasing wheel is rotatably mounted, the outer end of said shaft projecting from said bore, a burnishing tool located partly beneath the projecting portion of the creasing wheel shaft, a block mounted in the bracket and held in en- 3 V gagement with the upper side of the projecting portion. of the creasing wheel shaft, and means for driving the roll, wheel and tool.

, ROBERT GOW REID.

JOHN HENRY BROWN. 

